This is scary...

[Exfso (Peter)]

It is no wonder the people in the USA are always involved in mass shootings.

I tried to upload a video but I think it may be too big. Anyway the gist of it is that a 13 boy who is just a normal schoolkid and is a part time actor is set up to go to various places to try and purchase stuff that his age would not allow. He is knocked back at a lottery office, and is refused alcohol because of his age. Then he tries to buy cigarettes, but he is also refused. Finally he goes into a gun show and no problems he purchases a .22 rifle no questions asked at all.....

[rally]

Sounds the same as going to Kmart 50 years ago !
You could buy an air rifle with pellets over the counter no problem.

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

I actually still have a few boxes of Eley Subsonic Hollow Points (.22). They still have the K-Mart price label of $1.98 on each box. They would have been bought in 1981 or 1982. I recall that within a few months of me buying those 10 boxes of .22 ammunition K-Mart stopped selling all kinds of firearms and ammunition.

Cheers
John B

[Shiraz (Ray)]

yep, it really is scary isn't it Peter. There are continuing efforts to import that culture here - we don't need it. John Howard did good.

[Exfso (Peter)]

Yeah Ray, why would terrorists bother, they are killing themselves of much quicker than any terrorist cell could. What a sad state of affairs.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Sad to say ,,,,

Give a monkey a machine gun and see what happens ?

Brian.

[doppler (Rick)]

Australia is still up in the top ten for gun owner ship per capita, we just police the nutters a bit better, but Americans do tend to go overboard with most things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estima...ita_by_country

Out of all those things the 13 year old tried to buy, the .22 target rifle was the only item that would not harm the lad if used correctly. Being a non city kid my mates and I had a lot of fun with small bore rifles at that age.

[LewisM]

Bought myself 3 rifles for Christmas, and didn't once feel like a nutter

[Shiraz (Ray)]

naah, its not the guns, it's the culture. There is a macho/patriot/JohnWayne view of the world that sees an ability and willingness to kill your neighbour as a desirable attribute of a real man. Teaching your 12 year old daughter how to use a Glock is what a responsible parent does etc etc.

examples from the US: - A really pleasant guy asked if I had heard all the shotguns going off in the woods nearby - " it's dove season". Seems that shooting the symbol of peace is good sport.
- my 13 year old granddaughter went on a birthday sleepover - which also included a midnight raccoon shoot.
- the guy up the road mentioned that the pool company had sent a new maintenance guy - " didn't know his face, so I got out the 45"

there is a cultural acceptance of guns and gun violence that is hard to fathom

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by Shiraz

yep, it really is scary isn't it Peter. There are continuing efforts to import that culture here - we don't need it. John Howard did good.

Gun manufacturers loved Howards laws. Firearm ownership is far higher than before the laws came in, and owners had to re-purchase something to replace what was confiscated.

[AussieTrooper (Ben)]

Originally Posted by Shiraz

naah, its not the guns, it's the culture.

Yep. There are many countries with similar laws to the US, yet you don't get the mass shootings. NZ is one of them.
Even then, the overwhelming majority of US shootings is by gangs, not a nutter with a rifle.
One thing that clearly needs to change it the background check and mental health check. Both of these need to be implemented.